War of the cities
| War of the cities | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Iran–Iraq War | |||||
A map indicating the attacks on civilian areas of Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait targeted during the War of the cities | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
| Iraqi Air Force | Iranian Air Force | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Saddam Hussein | Ruhollah Khomeini | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| unknown |
2,312 dead civilians 11,625 injured civilians | ||||
The war of the cities was a mid-1980s series of air raids, missile attacks and artillery shellings on major cities and urban areas initiated by Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Air Force, with the aim of disrupting the morale of Iran during the Iran–Iraq War. The first phase of air strikes were undertaken by the Iraqi Air Force, which normally was followed by retaliation by the Iranian Armed Forces.
Iraq attacked major cities in the western half of Iran, including Tehran, Tabriz, Isfahan and Shiraz, in addition to attacks to Iranian towns and cities close to the front. Iran's retaliations targeted mostly Baghdad, Kirkuk and Basra.